WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 17: Ryan Zimmerman #11 of the Washington Nationals throws his bat after flying out in the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Nationals Park on August 17, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)Credit: Greg Fiume/Getty Images

Johnny Cueto and Ross Detwiler had a pitchers duel that ended with one earning a ‘W’ and the other being let down by their bullpen. Both pitchers finished with a great line, but let one pitch end their would-be shutout. Cueto pitched 8 innings scattering six hits while striking out five and allowing one run and Detwiler finished the night pitching 6 innings, allowing seven hits and two walks while striking out seven.

Both Cueto and Detwiler gave up solo home runs for their only runs allowed. Detwiler gave up a 400-foot solo shot to Joey Votto in the first inning. Cueto gave up a home run to Ryan Zimmerman in the 9th inning before he was pulled from the game. That home run wasn’t enough though as the Nationals fell short in the 9th.

With Tyler Clippard pitching 1 2/3 innings last night and Detwiler only making it 6 innings, Manager Davey Johnson had to go to some less trustworthy arms out of the pen. Todd Coffey had a strong performance striking out two batters in his inning of work. Sean Burnett had another disastrous performance, with 1/3 of an inning giving up 2 hits and allowing a walk and a run. Ryan Mattheus came in and relieved Burnett and finished off the inning. Henry Rodriguez pitched a good 9th inning throwing 10 pitches, 8 for strikes with a strikeout.

The home run was Zimmerman’s second in as many games, a sign that his power is definitely starting to come back. Zimmerman is hitting .360 in August. He’s raised his average from .279 at the beginning of the month to back even at .300. Zimmerman’s 3 home runs are one more than he had in all of July.

The Nationals and the Reds finish their three-game series Thursday night at 7:05 pm. Jordan Zimmermann (7-10, 3.23 ERA) will take the bump for the Nationals and face Bronson Arroyo (7-9, 5.31 ERA). You can listen to the game live on The Fan.